Path of Radiance
by NightmareD-Technolife
Summary: formerly known as 'From the Ashes' Sequel to Crimson Dawn. Kakashi's back! and stronger than ever but what will happen when one sees Kakashi as a threat and another sees him as opportunity?
1. From the Ashes

**Path of Radiance**

Chapter 1:

From the Ashes

The snow fell softly on the ice; the sea was completely frozen over. One could easily walk from the Fire Country and go straight to the Water Country. The white rose lay on the frozen water top, not withered. Suddenly, the ice cracked. Then, a hand thrust upwards and out of the ice. Then another hand. Soon, a body was being lifted out of the cold murky water. He then put up one of his knees to propel him better out of the water. Finally, he stood, shivering from the blistering cold. Being in only a black shorts wasn't easy. He didn't even have on sandals. He walked slowly towards the bottom of the cliff, looked up lazily and sighed. A pillar of earth propelled him upwards, he quickly got off and began his journey.

"Heavy snow in the land of fire?" He said. "Now that's a first."He walked through the white forest, but then he unfurled his beautiful and took to the skies. With the snow covering everything, the scenery looks like a world of fragile things. He could barely make out Konoha; after all, they haven't finished re-building yet and won't be finished for now. Somehow, he felt uneasy. What will he say when Tsunade sees him? Will he tell who he really is? How would she react? Will she even believe him?

"Pfft." He rolled his eyes. "She never believed me as Kakashi and she worse won't believe me as Konen." Then he had a thought. "Maybe Anko could help." A grin appeared onto his face, knowing that he's one step closer to regaining his normal life now that Darius is gone. He flew slowly, but he noticed that something was odd about him. His wings felt taller and much heavier. His body felt like he could move mountains. He shook his head to rid the thoughts but with the weight of those wings, he failed miserably. He diverted off the route to Konoha to check on the Akatsuki. As he landed on the cold ground, he used earth to see if they were there. Unfortunately, they weren't.

"Where could they be?" he tapped his chin repeatedly. "Oh no, don't tell me the spell wore off when I died." He dashed towards Konoha, fearing the worst. As he came in close proximity to the village, he smiled, for the gate was already finished being re-built. Then, his eyes caught Kotetsu and Izumo, who were walking to do their gate duties. He sighed, not wanting to stir anything so early in the day. Plus, he was feeling extremely lazy right now. Anyway, he took a chance.

Kakashi walked through the gates, passed Kotetsu and Izumo who seemed as if they didn't noticed that he passed. He shrugged, walking steadily towards where the Hokage tower was. "Where would Tsunade be now?" he stopped in the middle of the street, looking all over. Konoha looked different to him, for he wasn't accustomed to seeing the village looking like ancient ruins. There wasn't anyone on the streets, so traversing Konoha was easy for Kakashi. He didn't have to duck into any dark alleys, use any element as a means of disguise. He could walk freely, like he used to, when he was known to everyone as Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Nin. But now, he's Konen Hashimoto, the leader for Akatsuki. Only Anko could see him for who he really is and not what his title depicts. As he walked past a large tent, he heard a voice shout.

"I need to find Team Gai, pronto!"That voice was none other than Tsunade herself. Kakashi smiled, and walked towards the voice.

"Tsunade," he held her on her shoulder, she jerked in surprise. As she turned and saw who it was, her eyes widen with shock.

"Aren't you supposed to dead?" she rose to her feet. "What are you doing here?!"

"Where are my men?" He asked in a deadly monotone.

"In jail," she turned her back towards him, "and you should be there too."

"For what?!" Kakashi got enraged. "For helping you in a time of need?" By now, fire was blazing in his eyes. "And this is the thanks we get?!"He stormed outwards, and as he did so, he turned back and shot her death glare. "Fucking ingrates." With that he vanished. Tsunade was left in awe. Was she getting mad or did she just finish talking to a _dead_ man?

"Shizune," she called.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Did you just see ―"

"Yes, the leader of Akatsuki is not dead."

"Bring me Team Gai." She said stiffly. Shizune nodded in obeisance and within a short moments, Gai, Rock Lee, Neji and TenTen were before her.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Neji said.

"You're being sent on an S-rank mission. To find Kakashi. I don't know where he is now, but I know it can't be in another village. But…" She stopped abruptly.

"But what Tsunade-sama?" Gai asked.

"Someone said this to me, 'since Kakashi is no longer apart of Konoha he no longer exists.'" She looked down towards the ground. "And from that statement, I'm worried. Please, find him or find some kind of trail towards him."

"Hai!"

"You can leave anytime, you want."

Kakashi down the streets of Konoha, furious. He mumbled to himself, cursing and swearing. Without realizing, the hellfire element was burning around his fists. He stormed into a dark alley way, not thinking about where he's going. For some strange reason, he was hurting inside. Ever since this whole situation aroused, his heart ached more than ever. "Maybe it's homesickness." He sighed miserably, and ultimately, he leaned on the brick wall, and a tear escaped his eyes. Quickly, he wiped his eyes and set off to find the Akatsuki.

After hours of walking, he finally came to the prison. The outside looked like an ordinary house, the roof was slab, and surprisingly, it wasn't destroyed during the war. Kakashi pushed the tan door and headed inside. The interior was dark and somewhat dismal, but something bothered him. Where's the guards?! He shrugged it off, and walked down the stairwell. The lighting was poor, horrible to be exact. Well, when Kakashi looked into it, it had to be. In case any prisoners decide to escape, they won't be able to see, thus end up falling back down the stairwell. He chuckled at the thought, but then got back to his original state. Soon, he entered the chamber. The prison cells were on either side, with an opening in the middle. The walkways ran parallel to the cells; the guards were all at their stations. Kakashi kept concealed for a while, until he evoked earth. He tapped his bare feet onto the ground, and immediately, he searched for the Akatsuki. He jerked when he found them, but the thing was they were scattered all over the prison.

"This is going to be a drag," He sighed and vanished to the nearest one, which was Hidan, using lightning transport. The lightning transport was the easiest and the quickest transport out of all the elements. And plus, it's his favourite element. Anytime he used lightning, he felt at ease and at peace. But whenever he uses transport, he feels as if _he's _become the lightning.

He appeared in Hidan's cell, and was shocked to see that the man was sleeping. He looked in the cell and noticed that his scythe wasn't there. And Kakashi had no idea where to find it.

"Yo, Hidan." He called as he walked towards him. No reply. He hovered over him and grabbed his collar. He raised a hand into the air and smacked him in the face. "Wake up." He said in a low voice. Occasionally, Kakashi glanced over his back, to see if any guards were coming.

"Who ― Kakashi?" Hidan sprang to his feet, stumbling backwards. "Aren't you dead?"

"Yeah, I was. I don't know how I came back or why but I'm here and busting you out."

"Well I'm all game." Hidan placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and the two left the cell. Seconds later, the duo appeared in Kakuzu and Deidara's cell. It puzzled Kakashi as to why Hidan was alone in his cell but Deidara and Kakuzu are in the same cell. He blew it off as a minor because right now, he had other things to deal with.

"Bitches," Hidan smiled. "Ready for a jail-break?"

"More than you think actually," Deidara replied with a grin. Obviously, they hadn't noticed Kakashi who was standing near the cell bars. "So how did you get in here exactly?"

"Kakashi."

"What?!" Both men yelled.

"Shh, keep your voices down." Kakashi said as he moved from the bars. "After we escape I'll answer questions." Once more, they left that cell, by means of lightning, going for Itachi. When they arrived, they were stunned as Itachi's cell was the darkest, and the gloomiest.

"Took you long enough." Itachi grinned. "I wonder ―" he broke off, seeing Kakashi. "Aren't you ―"

"I'll take questions later!" Kakashi got miserable, "everyone asking me the same blasted question!"

"Well it is a means of concern." Deidara said. "Just to make sure you aren't the walking dead or a demon."

"This place has seen its fair share of demons experiences." Kakashi said, remembering the Kyuubi attack. "Now that we're all here, let's go." With that said, the men disappeared from the cell in an instant.


	2. Moving Mountains

**Path of Radiance**

Chapter 2:

Moving mountains

The Akatsuki walked the snowy path in complete silence, before stopping at a clearing. Kakashi sighed and leaned against a tree, with folded arms.

"Can we ask the questions now?" Deidara asked, his eyes burned with intensity.

"Shoot." Kakashi said, holding his head down in the process.

"How did you come back alive?"

"I don't know." He answered solemnly. "All I know is that I was burning and then the white flames engulfed my vision. After that, I saw that I was under water."

"Damn," Hidan said. "How's that possible?"

"Even I myself want to know." Kakashi raised his head higher. "In such a short space of time, so much snow has fallen."

"Short space of time?!" Hidan bust with laughter, "Kakashi are you serious?"

"What? I couldn't have been dead for more than a day." After he said this, everyone erupted with laughter. Kakashi wondered, what's with the laughing but he kept it inside.

"Kakashi," Itachi began, "you've been dead for more than two months." Kakashi froze immediately. He stared on with disbelief. Slowly, he looked down on his hands, and then he slid down to the ground.

"I've been dead for that long?"

"Believe it or not," Itachi smiled, "it's true." Kakashi nodded, he looked towards the sky, watching the snow flakes. As he gazed onwards, one snow flake fell straight into his right eye. The cold sensation exploded throughout his optic nerve, sending a shiver through his body.

"Another question," Itachi said, "Are you going to tell Tsunade the truth?"

"No," Kakashi replied, "but she's going find out the truth, just not with me telling her."

"How?"

"I'll think of something."

"You mean, you haven't decided on what to do yet?" Deidara asked.

"I just came back alive!"Kakashi threw his hands into the air to seem dramatic. "I haven't the slightest idea."

"So why don't you just tell the woman?"

"Because if she didn't believe me when I was Kakashi you really think she'd believe me as Konen? A complete stranger who's the leader of Akatsuki."

"Oh." The men said at the same time. Kakashi stood, gesturing for them to follow him. Kakashi sprang from branch to branch, Akatsuki close behind.

"I'm going to need your help." Kakashi said.

"For what?" was what Hidan asked.

"I can't find my family ring."

"Maybe it got burned when you caught ablaze." Itachi said. "It's logical."

"No, it can't. It wasn't on my finger because my fingers were charred beyond recognition."

"Of course," Deidara smirked. "I'm sure that before you had on shorts, a shirt, pair of sandals and now you're reduced to only shorts. Not even sandals!" Kakashi knew that Deidara had a point. He sighed but still he had a feeling that his family ring was somewhere out there.

"Well you guys can't be a hundred percent sure." Hidan grinned from ear to ear. "Lead the way Hatake." Kakashi nodded and sprang off into the trees. After some minutes of slowly jumping from branch to branch, they were once more at the dreaded place. Kakashi stiffened remembering what had happened. He then began scanning the ground like a robot. He looked like a little boy trying to find his lost toy or something.

"What does this ring look like?" Itachi asked.

"Well it's golden with diamonds in the shape of a 'K.'"

"Hmm,"

Kakashi looked close to the edge, Deidara looked nearer to the trees, and Itachi looked deeper into the woods, for he thought that maybe the ring fell off before Kakashi got the cliff; Hidan just randomly walked around looking on the ground, Kakuzu leaned on the tree. Kakashi walked closer to where he was stabbed and there it was. Gleaming in the dirt. He sprinted towards it, diving onto his knees and frantically grabbing it out of the dirt.

"I found it!" Kakashi yelled with glee. "I found it!" He quickly slid it onto his finger, wiggling them afterwards. He rose to his feet and rounded up all the men together. Ever since he got back from the dead, he felt different. He couldn't define what it really was, but he knew something wasn't right with him.

"Guys, I need to test out something." Kakashi spoke. "I've been feeling a bit different."

"And you look different too." Itachi said. "Ever since you died the first time, I've noticed it." Itachi folded his arms. "That time, you looked younger. Like seventeen or so."

"And you still do." Kakuzu spoke from they escaped jail.

"Oh really, and you're still here?" Kakashi asked, forgetting that Kakuzu was there.

"Hm, now Kakashi, your wings are bigger and taller than usual." Hidan said.

"That I've noticed." Kakashi sighed.

"I'm all game for your 'test', and I know the perfect place." He darted away from everyone, flying through the bushes. He couldn't stop grinning, as he really wanted to fight something. And now, he's going to get his wish. After clearing the bushes, they ended up at the foot of a mountain.

"We could spar here. It's isolated and not many, if any, people know about here."

"Okay."

"But, only taijutsu."

"What?!" Kakashi exploded.

"Yeah, I'm a bit rusty and I need to sharpen up."

"Fine." Kakashi drew his katana while Hidan took out his scythe from beneath his jacket. Itachi counted them off, and as Itachi said 'go', Hidan charged up at Kakashi. He swung his scythe in a crescent moon angle; Kakashi used his katana to block it. Hidan then jumped backwards, putting some distance between them. Kakashi rushed to him, to Hidan kept jumping backwards. Kakashi played along to see what was he up to. As they came to the foot of the mountain, Hidan sprang into the air and threw kunai at Kakashi. Kakashi blocked them all but, that was when he strikes. Hidan came down with such a force on Kakashi, one of Kakashi's knees were bent. Kakashi eased him off, and then jump upwards to punch him. Because he's now open it was easy to punch him. But, as Kakashi came closer, Hidan twisted to the left. Kakashi anticipated this move, thus twisted also bringing his foot down on Hidan's abdomen. Hidan crashed into the ground, but quickly recovered as he saw Kakashi diving towards him. He dashed up the mountain slope and down the other side. Kakashi cursed, and because of his anger, he stomped the ground, the earth from beneath his feet cracked going straight to the mountain. The mountain was then split in two; Kakashi formed his hands as if he was opening a door and threw them apart. Each half of the mountain was pushed left and to the right. Itachi, Kakuzu and Deidara stood in awe as what just happened.

"Did he just _move _a mountain?" Deidara asked in disbelief. "He didn't just _move_ a mountain?"

"He split it first." Itachi said with widened eyes. "But that's impossible. Raw strength and he threw them aside like a piece of paper. Impossible." Kakuzu only looked on with dropped jaws.

"Are you sure he didn't use earth?"

"I looked with my sharingan." Itachi didn't look at Deidara. "It wasn't elemental control or chakra, it was his _raw_ strength." Deidara looked away from Itachi, still in awe.

Hidan was frozen. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Even his scythe that was in his hand fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Did I just move a mountain?" Kakashi collapsed onto his knees and looked at the other men behind him. Itachi appeared beside him in whisk, placing a hand on him.

"I was thinking," Itachi began,

"What's that?"

"Could it be that because Darius is destroyed, all his power is now manifested in you because you're his reincarnate?" Kakashi was taken aback. He never even thought about that. But it all makes sense! The reason for him feeling so different, his wings being taller and bigger was all because Darius' power was now in him. A grin slowly appeared onto his face as he stood.

"I may need all of you in this," Kakashi grinned, charging at a stunned Hidan.

Masked in the darkness of the trees, he stood and watched the young Akatsuki leader. But when he saw the Akatsuki leader split and moved the mountain, he was awestruck.

"Kabuto,"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," the white haired boy answered respectfully.

"I've found my new vessel." He said with a devious grin.

**Next: **Chapter 3

**That's that! Thanks to Prescripto 13, Fantasi Liar and LeMemeFox for your reviews!**


	3. Change

**Thank you Prescripto 13, LeMemeFox, and Fantasi Liar! Thank you!**

**Path of Radiance**

Chapter 3:

Change.

The Akatsuki lay on the snowy ground, panting like crazy. They've been sparring for hours now, each unable to move an inch. All over the ground was decimated, far beyond the state of recognition. As Kakashi gazed around, he whistled, seeing that he destroyed the place.

"Oh damn," Deidara said, "they're gonna have to remake the map."

"Right about that," Hidan said. "I'm thirsty; too bad we don't have any water nearby."

"Eat snow," Itachi replied.

When Hidan said that, Kakashi realized something. Kisame wasn't there! He wasn't in prison and he wasn't at their hideout, so where the hell could he be?!

"Guys," Kakashi sprang to his feet in distress, "where's Kisame?!"

"Oh, he didn't get captured like the rest so he's somewhere roaming about." Kakuzu said with nonchalance.

"Oh," he dropped backwards to his original position, which was lying on his back. Itachi had been staring intently on him ever since their sparring as he noticed that something was wrong with Kakashi. Often times, he kept zoning out, and placing his hands on his head as if experiencing a headache. That was something Hatake Kakashi would never do while in a fight. Whether sparring or not. Itachi rose to his feet, walked over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi," Itachi called, looming over Kakashi. He gasped, as he saw Kakashi's facial expression. Kakashi's eyes were wide open; it was as if he was lost in a trance. Itachi grabbed him, and rigorously shook him but it was no use.

"What's wrong with him?!" Deidara asked, somewhat frantic.

"I don't know, let's wait and see." Itachi said.

_He walked on streets of gold; everywhere had angels walking freely, most calling out to him. He continued to walk, the buildings were made out of silver and gold, the trees were of many different colours. He was bent looking for someone, and that someone was none other than the brown haired Arch-angel, Kairi. He reached out a hand to touch her but then everything vanished. _

Kakashi snapped back to reality, eyes blinking too much times in a single second.

"You're coming with me." Itachi said in a low voice in which only Kakashi could hear. He let go and the two walked away from the others.

"Where're you going?!" Hidan called out.

"Don't worry," Kakashi replied with a smile. The two men disappeared from their sight into a copse of trees. Itachi leaned on a tree bark while Kakashi sat directly in front him on a fallen tree. Itachi's eyes burned with intensity, Kakashi could only feel fear enveloping him.

"Why did you bring me out here?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm concerned." As Itachi said this, Kakashi was taken aback. Itachi feeling _concerned_? That's a first. "Thanks to your curse of course. I've noticed that you're zoning out and you're holding your head as if feeling headaches."

"You're quite the analyzing type."

"Talk!"

"Okay, while we were sparring, I've been seeing _things_."

"Things like what?"

"I think it's Darius' memories. Only he has ever been surrounded by angles and walk on streets of gold." Kakashi sighed, "it's somewhat terrifying. I'm seeing how he killed humans and…" he trailed off.

"And what?"

"What he felt while in the Templum Mortis." Itachi saw Kakashi shuddered.

"Anything else?"

"And my power. It's ―"

"Imbalanced. I know, because of Darius power going to you plus your power…your body has a lot to work out and from what I see…" he looked at Kakashi from head to toe. "Your body is still trying to make the necessary adjustments. It's logical." Kakashi couldn't say anything. He just sat there, gazing at the trees.

"I want to ask, can you freely tap into Darius' memories?"

"I don't know, never tried." Kakashi shrugged. "They just come to me at any time."

"Can you do the things Darius can?"

"I never tried."

"The thing is, you moved a mountain with raw strength. No one should be able to do that. And I doubt that Tsunade can."

"I'm ―"

"Meditate." Itachi said with a sigh, "get those powers back in check because who knows, you could blow us all into oblivion." Itachi walked away from Kakashi, who was shaken. _You need to master those powers of yours or else you could be the one destroy the earth and not me, _Kakashi remembered Darius' words clearly as it haunted him then. And to be told the same thing just a little bit differently was frightening for him. Heck, this whole experience was.

"Thank god it's over now." He sighed as he got up and followed Itachi back to the others.

* * *

Anko sprang from her slumber, feeling a distant jolt of electricity. How could that be? She got up and looked out the window. Something in her gut told her that something bad was going to happen. But what?

_Knock…Knock_

The door creaked open to reveal Kurenai, smiling like crazy.

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you of course," Kurenai took a seat on the bed, "I heard that they're conducting a search party to find Kakashi. Isn't that great?"

"Hm," Anko said without a care in the world.

"Anko, shouldn't you be happy?"

"They won't find him."

"What makes you say that?'

"Because he died." She said in such a monotone that it got Kurenai quivering.

"What do you mean he's _dead_?!" Immediately, Kurenai rose to her feet and spun Anko around. "He can't be."

"We all saw it that day. At the cliff…" she trailed off and then broke down into tears. _Kakashi was there?_ Kurenai thought. She shook her head and the two headed outside.

* * *

"Finally you're back." Kakuzu said. "Hidan and Deidara are hell."

"Sorry but it was…important." Kakashi replied. But then, he realizes something. He was freezing to death! He had on only shorts, nothing else!

"We're going to Konoha." Kakashi said, sounding a bit scary.

"Why?" Hidan asked.

"Because, I'm out here in the blistering cold with no warmth!" Kakashi moved off, never caring about they wanted to follow him or not. How could he not feel the cold earlier?! Now it all came gushing at him with no mercy. Even his wings were shivering so much it was creating a sound that echoed like a vibrating phone. He darted through the trees, watching his steps so he wouldn't slip from the snow that accumulated on the branches of the trees. But still, he wondered, why would snow fall in the land of Fire on such a heavy note? He shrugged it off as a simple climate change.

Finally, Konoha's gates were visible. Kakashi smiled, knowing that he'd finally put on some clothes. And his mask. He glanced around at the Akatsuki, and noticed that they haven't realized that he was mask-less. They landed atop the gates, gazing over at the village. The men were mounted on buildings, looking ants swarming a huge chunk of food. Re-building looked like a lot of stress, and Kakashi had a wild idea. He smirked, jumping off from the gates to another building. Then, he slipped into a dark alley and slowly navigated around the busy streets. Within no time, he was standing at the door of his home. He turned the lock, the door flew open. _I guess she's out with Kurenai,_ Kakashi thought. He looked around, and sighed.

"Hurry it up, we don't have all day!" Kakashi yelled, then slipped into the house. He noticed that there was an ANBU sitting in a tree at his bedroom window. He cursed inwardly, knowing that with that ANBU there, getting clothes without the use of elements is going to be a hassle. And that he didn't want.

After the men have reached inside, Kakashi placed the night element over them. They walked up the stairs going into the bedroom. Kakashi flung open the blue closet doors and walked in. He took up a white shorts, and a black shirt whose neck covered the lower part of his face, where his mask would usually be. He then took up his kunai pouch and strapped it to his leg.

"You guys should ditch that Akatsuki outfit." He said while putting on his sandals. "It's scaring everyone."

"But I don't suppose you ―"

"Look in the closet. Not all my clothes can fit me you know."

The men obliged, going in and picking up whatever they see fit. After a few minutes, the men emerged all clad in full black. Kakashi rolled his eyes with disgust, and then took up a black jacket.

"Well then, now that we're all dressed, you need some hair styling."

"Oh no." Deidara said. "No."

Kakashi grabbed him by the collar, a made him sit on the bed. Deidara retaliated, Kakashi used his magical aura, (more like energy) to create a rope to wrap around Deidara and hold him still. He then drew a kunai, held his long blonde hair and then sliced the kunai through it. Deidara wailed, seeing his hair being cut was horrifying.

"Oh shut up," Kakashi snapped. "You were reminding me too much of Ino." Kakashi spun him around to face him. He then cut the bang that hung over his right eye. "It was really irritating." Deidara's hair was now at his neck and a short bang hid his eye.

"Next, Kakuzu." Kakashi grinned. He was enjoying this, so he found himself laughing loudly. Kakuzu sat on the bed, awaiting his fate. Kakashi did the same thing that he did to Deidara. Cut his hair and spiked some parts of it. He was done with Kakuzu quickly for he was very co-operative. As Kakuzu got up, Hidan sat for he wouldn't want Kakashi be rough with him like he was with Deidara. And when Kakashi was rough, he would break your bones. Since Hidan's hair was short, all Kakashi had to do was spike it. And that took less than a minute. Kakashi grinned, looking at them made him feel like he'd accomplish something that he never thought possible.

Itachi was the only one left. He was leaning near the window, gazing out. "Itachi, you're next." Itachi had to literally peel himself off the wall to go sit on the bed that had transformed the others. He held his hair and winced, he closed his eyes as he sat.

"Say goodbye to long hair." Kakashi was grinning uncontrollably. Itachi's eyes were squeezed shut, as the sounds of the kunai cutting his hair were unbearable. Then it stopped. He opened his eyes, seeing Kakashi looking at him with satisfaction. "It's done." Itachi rose off the bed, feeling his hair. He now had spiked hair like everybody else with was terrible. "And another thing, hide your hitae-ate or get rid of it." Kakashi said.

"Why? Everybody already knows us." Hidan said.

"Not with those hair-styles and new outfits. We wouldn't want people to know that we're Akatsuki now do we?" The men shook their heads. "Now, let's go." With that, Kakashi evoked lightning and the men vanished out of the room in blink of an eye.

The forest was the usual, Team Gai along with Kiba were scanning every ounce of the forest to find Kakashi. And with the snow, it was hard for Kiba or Akamaru to seek him without hassle. But as they came to a clearing, they heard noises from behind.

"I hate you Kakashi, you know that!" Deidara bellowed on top of his voice. It still pained him that his hair was stripped of its length.

"Yeah, I know." Kakashi chuckled.

"The great Copy Nin turned a hair-dresser!" Hidan laughed. This got Kakashi enraged. Hair-dresser he was not.

"Run." Was all he said. Everyone knew that he was pissed, so they took off immediately. But they weren't faster than Kakashi. He was in front of them within a wink.

"Boo." Kakashi said as he formed an energy rope and flew them away like pieces of garbage. "Catch me if you can." Kakashi said. They landed in front of Gai's team, however, the Akatsuki never noticed them.

"Where's he?" Hidan asked.

"Kakashi is a master at hiding," Itachi said, "I bet he's gone back to Konoha."

"Right."

"Nope, his chakra signature is close by," Kakuzu said, "He's somewhere around here."

When Gai heard this he was pissed. Quickly, he jumped out and pinned down Deidara who was closer.

"Where's he?!" He yelled.

"I see you're picking a fight." Hidan smiled. "I'm all game."

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Next Chapter 4: A battle between Rivals.


	4. A battle between Rivals

I'm extremely sorry for the last updates!

Path of Radiance

Chapter 4:

A battle between Rivals

Gai sprang off Deidara; Deidara was aided to his feet by Hidan. The two grinned at the Konoha ninjas, knowing that fighting them was going to be fun. Itachi and Kakuzu were feeling a bit lazy, so they were in the thicket watching everyone else. Deidara shoved his hands into his clay pouch and he opened his palm, out came a dozen birds. Hidan took off towards Gai and Lee; Deidara aimed his bombs at Neji, and TenTen. Kiba and Akamaru were aiming for Deidara from behind but never made it. Hell, none of the attacks reached destination.

Kakashi heard the ruckus and yelling, so he decided to intervene. Deep down, he hoped that the guys haven't pissed off anyone, 'cause right now, Kakashi can't deal with anything. He just wants to have fun and take things easy. As he came closer to the sounds, he spotted green spandex, a big white dog and immediately knew that the guys were in a fight with Konoha nins. Great. Just what he what he needed. Even though he missed them, he wouldn't want to see them for he feared his emotions would explode.

Kakashi bust through the trees just in time to stop the fatal attacks. Quickly, he formed the Kage Bunshin hand seal and about five other Kakashis appeared. One Kakashi appeared behind Deidara and formed an energy rope to restrain Kiba and Akamaru; one held Hidan's scythe, another two held Gai and Lee's feet, and the last one grabbed the bombs into a ball, and threw them away deep into the forest.

"What have you guys gotten yourselves into now?" Kakashi was standing on a branch, overlooking them all. By now, all the kage bunshin have already disappeared.

"They started it." Deidara said. "The green spandex jumped on me and held my neck!"

"You guys know where's Kakashi Hatake, don't you!?" Neji said.

"He's here in this forest." Kakashi said as he descended. "It's just that you are searching underneath the underneath but sometimes the answer is right here on the surface." Kakashi was actually smiling, glad to see that they're all in one piece.

Gai got enraged, for, he hated Konen, although Konen reminds him of Kakashi in some sense. He charged at Konen, throwing a punch at him. Kakashi didn't dodge it, feeling somewhat that he deserved that punch. He stumbled a few steps backwards, falling over to the ground. He rubbed his jaw, but quickly rolled away as a kick came crashing towards him. Hidan, Deidara, Itachi, and Kakuzu all stood at one side, watching the fight.

Hidan then marched off, seeing an indication from Kakashi. The others later followed, not wanting to see a fight in which Kakashi wasn't fighting back, only dodging blows. Kakashi sighed, knowing that even if he ran, Gai would still be hot on his tail. But then, a thought came into his head. He's going to fight Gai. He figured that he needed to catch up on all the 'challenges' he'd missed and He guessed that this was sort of the right time.

Kakashi looked as if he was dancing around, for he was avoiding every kick, and punch Gai could throw at him. Gai's eyes were actually burning with anger, and poor Kakashi wouldn't want to be hit by one of those punches again. As he kept taking galloping steps backwards, he forgot all about the others, and stepped on an explosive tag. He was sent flying but then, a double combination of Kiba and Akamaru send him flying back into Gai's direction.

He twisted in mid-air, avoiding kicks from Gai and Lee. _What have I gotten myself into? _Kakashi was fed up, and couldn't bother with fending off TenTen, Neji, Kiba and his dog, and Gai and Lee. He teleported himself onto a low tree branch and evoked earth. The earth wrapped around the ninjas pinning them to the ground. Then, he made fire on top of the earth making it hard for them to escape. He teleported over to Gai and leaned down towards him.

"You know, the reason why I wear my hair like this it's because a friend died and gave me his eye as a present on the day I turned a jounin. And ever since we met, I've been really mean to him. Heck, I was a bastard to everyone." Kakashi said. "But after his death, I changed." He rose up and began walking away.

"Why tell us that?" Neji asked.

"It's a hint." Kakashi winked his only visible eye and made a sly grin before disappearing into the woods.

"What do you mean the prisoners escaped?!" Tsunade's voice resonated throughout the building.

"The guards said that no one passed them going neither in nor out." Shizune spoke softly, fearing Tsunade's rage.

"Then, how could…" Tsunade trailed off, remembering that she recently had an encounter with a man that was supposedly _dead._ She walked over to her window and let out a sigh of frustration. One of the best ninjas in the world is nowhere to be found and now Akatsuki has a new leader that is strangely obsessed with her village and sprouts wings at times. And to make matters worse, she believes that the Akatsuki leader has a slight resemblance, voice, and body frame just like Kakashi.

She shook her head to rid the thoughts, but they just won't leave. She had an urge to go to Konen and punch the truth out of him, but, she doesn't know his full potential so it could be walking into a death match. "Shizune," she called.

"Yes Tsunade-sama,"

"Run a background check in all the villages for Konen Hashimoto."

"Hai." With that said, the black haired ninja left the room with a whisk.


	5. The Spells

Path of Radiance.

Chapter 5:

The Spells.

Hidan paced around, ranting until it simmered down into grumbling. He was a man of little patience. Plus, Kakashi placed a curse on them which none of them liked. Suddenly, Kakashi appeared with a gale of wind, almost blowing them away. Hidan shot him a death glare, for, the temperature is already low plus the snow hasn't melted yet. Kakashi could only manage a shrug, after which, he sat braps on the icy ground. He crossed his feet like an 'x' position and placed both his hands on the ground.

Everyone looked at him quizzically, but before anyone could say anything, he spoke.

"Don't let anyone or anything come near me." His voice sounded in a deeper bass than it usually was. No one said anything, only nodded in obeisance. Kakashi closed his eye, and allowed darkness to engulf him. As he floated through the darkness, he noticed that in the distance, he could see a room and someone sitting with his back turned. He went closer to the person and wondered if he had entered Darius' memories. As he came into the room, he felt odd, but he didn't pay it any attention. He looked around, hoping that he's where he had intended to be.

"Hello." Kakashi was shocked. That voice sounded all too familiar. The person turned around, and poor Kakashi nearly fainted.

"Darius?"

"The only one and only." He rose to his feet, grinning like he'd used to. "You're probably wondering why I'm here and I died, right?" Kakashi nodded like a little puzzled child with his eyes wide open and his head slightly cocked to one side. "Well, since you're my reincarnate, my soul is trapped in your body for all eternity. But the good part for you is that I can't do anything _unless _you give me permission to.

Kakashi nodded then asked, "So can I do what you can?"

"No shit," Darius said sounding annoyed. He walked up to Kakashi and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This time around, you can actually trust me."

Kakashi smiled, and then Darius took a step back. He kept looking at Kakashi for some odd reason, Kakashi was bothered by this. Darius went back into his sitting position, and a huge grin appeared on his face as he did so.

"You are going to learn my attacks." Darius saw like a spark in Kakashi's face, and was slightly taken aback. "You seem elated."

"You have no idea." Kakashi was grinning from ear to ear as he approached Darius. "So when do we get started?"

"Now." Darius rose to his feet, and folded his arms in that same breath. "You're going to go back to reality and I'll give you further instructions from there."

"Okay," after Kakashi said this, everything began fading away and in an instant, he was looking at the Akatsuki. They stared back at him, and Kakashi knew that they all had something to say or to ask. He sighed heavily, rose to his feet and dusted off the snow off his clothes.

"So you're ready?" Darius asked. Kakashi was jolted as he didn't expect to see Darius standing beside him. "Don't be so frightened,"

"You appeared out of nowhere! Of course I'd be frightened!" Kakashi shouted. "Who wouldn't be?!"

"Umm…" Deidara began, "Kakashi, who are you talking to?"

"Uhh…you can't see him."

"They can now." Darius said. And not before long, his body began to form out in front of the men, starting from the feet. After, it was complete, everyone was shocked.

"Isn't he dead?!" Without hesitation, Itachi and Hidan were well on their way on attacking Darius. But as Hidan's scythe and Itachi's kunai came in contact with Darius, they just slipped through as if nothing was there.

"What was that?!" Hidan yelled. "How ―?"

"I'm just a phantom."Darius grinned. "And you can't harm a phantom."

"Kakashi, I thought he was dead! Why is he here?!" Kakuzu asked.

"He's helping me." Kakashi said in a low voice hoping that they wouldn't hear.

"He's helping you?!" Deidara exploded. "Helping!? He's the villain!"

"Not anymore. You see I'm trapped within my reincarnate's body for all eternity and I don't have my powers any at all." Darius answered. Then he turned to Kakashi and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get down to business. First, you'd start off with the destruction spells and we move on from there." Kakashi simply nodded, while the Akatsuki only stood in utter shock. Darius seemed to moved closer to Kakashi and momentarily, he would tell the Akatsuki that they should get far.

"Now, all you have to do is sum up all your energy whenever you're about to recite a spell so as when you're done, everything comes out as a big blast."

"Okay,"

"Repeat after me." Darius sighed heavily, knowing that it was going to be messy. "Fire burns with intense heat, mercilessly the white flames blaze to put all enemies in a torrid daze. Sunlight scorches skin, let the havoc begin. Way of destruction number one, shotgun." While he was saying this, his fingers were in the form of gun with his index and middle pointing forwards, and his thumb was pointing to the sky. Kakashi formed his hand into a gun like position and made a huge gulp, "Fire burns with intense heat, mercilessly the white blaze to pit all enemies in a torrid daze. Sunlight scorches skin…" he trailed off as he noticed that his hand had a white flame burning all around it. He looked at Darius who simply gestured him to continue. "Let the havoc of destruction number one, shotgun." A beam of white flame flew from Kakashi's finger tips and within the blink of an eye, decimated everything in the distance. Even a shock wave came gushing at them, almost blowing them away. After the dust cleared, Kakashi and the Akatsuki were awestruck. Everything was gone; the trees, the grass, the snow and even the animals. Now the land looks barren and deserted.

"What have we done?!" Kakashi threw his hands in distress. "How are we going to fix this?"

"Evoke earth." Darius rolled his eyes with disgust. "But not now." Kakashi slumped his shoulders and sighed heavily. "There's a lot more where that came from."Kakashi felt like giving up. He felt like just marching to Tsunade and let her do anything she wanted with him.

"Don't worry, I'll be teaching you the most destructive ones"

"And how many are there?"

"Hundreds, but I'm only going teach you only three knowing how lazy you are." Darius sat on a stone, looking into the horizon with a smile on his face. He was actually proud of Kakashi, seeing that he didn't mess up and destroyed everything and everyone. With Kakashi turning his back to the Akatsuki, he didn't realize that they left and had gone elsewhere.

"Next, this spell has to do with lightning so I think you'd do well with it." Darius said while having a smile on his face. "Thunder bursts through the clouds, skies darken with fear, way of destruction number two hundred and twenty, electrocution. Say that while holding your hand in front of you. Your aim is to electrocute the enemy so this is sort of a close range attack." As usual, Kakashi nodded and then he positioned his hand as instructed. Afterwards, he took an offensive stance, and repeated the incantation. However, as he said the last word, a blast of lightning shot from his palm. It went all different directions and even Darius was shocked. He eyed Kakashi, and all Kakashi could do was shrug. "I did what you said."

"You should be gauging yourself whenever you're doing this." Darius said as he folded his arms. "Let's go again." Kakashi sighed heavily, shifted his feet slightly apart from each other, stretched out his hand and began the incantation. "Thunder bursts through the clouds, skies darken with fear, way of destruction number two hundred and twenty, electrocution." This time, a line of lightning extended from Kakashi's palm. Then it parted into all direction and turned into a massive wave of electricity. Kakashi looked at Darius with a grin, but Darius wasn't smiling at all.

"I didn't get it right?"

"You did a different spell. The one that you just did is called shock wave."

"Oh."

"But onto the next spell."Darius was grinning too much for Kakashi's comfort. "This is my favourite." Darius rose to his feet and walked right to where Kakashi was. "I call it 'Black Moon'." Kakashi nearly fainted. He remembers that dreaded spell that made able to see nothing but black. "I'm not learning that one."

"Not because I used it on you that doesn't mean you aren't going to learn it."

"I don't want to."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Umm…"

"It's a spell that makes either the sun or moon whichever time of day you use it turn to black and everywhere turns to black also. No one can see anything, not even if you use earth." Darius shrugged. "Plus, if you want anyone or anything caught in black moon dies instantly."

"Ok fine."

"It's quite simple. All you have to do; evoke night and cast it with the star element so that the heavenly body ruling the day or night will be covered in darkness thus casting it back on the earth. And for killing persons, evoke night, death and star and that's all."

"You're lying."

"I don't have time to lie anymore."

"So, how am I going to do black moon? I'm going to kill everyone!"

"You don't have to do _that _one. And you can control who dies from who lives."

"Okay." Kakashi raised his hand towards the sun, and not before long, blackness began spiralling around his hand. It shot up towards the sky and then he evoked star. The elements shot further upwards and then disappeared. Kakashi frowned but then the sun was turning into black. And afterwards, the entire place turned into complete darkness. Kakashi smiled, and was feeling all powered up inside.

"Good, now that you got that time to learn the Restraining spells."


	6. Restraint

Path of Radiance

Chapter 6:

Restraint.

Kakashi heard the word 'restraining' and a grin appeared on his face. Thinking on how he'd simply stop Gai's movements whenever he offers a challenge. Darius shook his head, and stood a far off from Kakashi.

"You'll need a live specimen to see if it works."

"Ok," Kakashi turned around to face the Akatsuki. However, they weren't there. "Deidara?" Nothing. "Shit." Kakashi tapped his feet on the earth, and scanned the area for any sign of them. After a few minutes of searching, he found them. Heading to Konoha. Without hesitation, he took off, fearing the worst.

The Akatsuki sprang slowly from branch to branch, avoiding the snow. Boredom got the better of them and they decided since Kakashi was training with a ghost, they would find something else to kill time. As they continued onwards, Hidan spotted something that caused him to stop immediately. The others went on a few metres but then, they too, stopped.

"Hello." His voice was slimy like that of a snake's hiss. "I would like to ask you a few questions about your leader."

"We're not in the mood for questions and answers Orochimaru." Hidan snapped.

"Let's go guys." Itachi said. "I wouldn't want to hang around _him_ any longer." As Itachi turned his back to walk in the other direction, he felt a sting in his neck and then, he collapse and fell to the ground. Before the others could act, they too were falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Good job, Kabuto." Orochimaru's grin was wider than usual. "Now bring them back to me." With those words, he vanished from Kabuto's eyes.

Kakashi teleported from area to area, hoping to find any one of the Akatsuki; but unfortunately, came up empty handed. Kakashi began biting his nails, not knowing what to do. He took a seat on one of the branches, wanting to clear his head.

"Where could they have gone?" Kakashi sounded miserable and frail.

"You could still use earth you know." Darius shrugged, sounding a bit bitchy.

"Why are you so…?" Kakashi trailed off, knowing what to call Darius' behavior.

"Well, I'm trapped within your soul until you die and I'm powerless." He said. "I feel like one of those petty humans that I enslaved a few millenniums back."

"Hence the saying what goes around, comes around." Kakashi was actually laughing, almost dropping off the tree branch. "You crack me up, D."

"Now you've even gotten me a nickname." Darius frowned. "This is torture."

"Nah, down here we call it life."

Darius was literally red with anger but what he could do to Kakashi? He made a defeated sigh, and continued to follow Kakashi through the white forest. As Kakashi looked around, he was surprised that the snow hasn't melted yet, the temperature was still cold and snow was still falling. He wondered what could have triggered this drastic climatic change, but then blew it off as a minor event.

"Where are we?" Kakuzu asked, slowly waking from his unconsciousness. "I hope we're not back in Konoha."

"Indeed…you're not." A voice said out of the shadows. All heads looked in the same direction, up. He stepped into the only lighting, and to their horror, it was Orochimaru. "I won't do you any harm," he continued, grinning. "All I want is for you to tell me about your leader that's all." All four men immediately stiffened, and realizing that they were chained down on a concrete slab.

"You won't do us any harm yet still for all, you have us chained like specimens for an experiment." Hidan snapped.

"I wouldn't want you to escape without answering my questions."

"And if we don't want to answer?" Itachi asked.

"You'll eventually know."

Every one of the men had a sinking feeling. One couldn't trust Orochimaru any at all, knowing that he's the dreaded snake king. He walked over to peer down on them. Looking mainly in Deidara's face, he began his interrogation.

"Who really is Konen Hashimoto?" he tilted Deidara's chin up towards him and when he wouldn't answer, he was electrocuted. His screams echoed throughout the dismal room, Hidan's anger exploded seeing that Deidara was suffering and he's not the one inflicting the pain. He growled, baring his teeth. But even though he struggled, he could never get free. When he looked at the others, they were all angry but remained still for they knew there's nothing they could do. As for Orochimaru, pleasure and anger coursed through his veins. Something in his gut told that Konen was actually Kakashi, but if he could dig it out of them, it would be easier for him. But they weren't complying.

"I'll ask again," this time he sounded bitter. "Who's Konen Hashimoto?"

"He's from the Fire Country and was a secret shinobi because his village wasn't a shinobi village." Itachi said. "That's all we now."

"It doesn't seem that way to me," Orochimaru said, walking around them. "You must've seen him in his hiate or he must've spoken about his dear village."

"No, he hasn't." Itachi's voice was firm, trying to make Orochimaru believe him. "He hasn't said anything."

"Oh, really…" Orochimaru slowly strides over to Deidara. "I ask you, exactly which village Konen is from. Is it Iwa? Or Suna?" Orochimaru's grin was heinous. "Or is it Konoha?" He saw Deidara stiffen, which meant that he was onto something.

"It's none of the above." Orochimaru's head turned so fast, the Akatsuki thought it was broken. Because of the poor lighting, no one could see anything. But Hidan knew that voice.

"Kakashi." He said below his breath. "How'd he find us?" Kakashi stepped into the light, and as Orochimaru saw him, he smiled.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Orochimaru took a few steps towards him, Kakashi didn't move an inch. "Since you're here, how about you tell me more about yourself?"

"I'm Konen Hashimoto and I'm the leader of Akatsuki." Kakashi said as he walked towards the men. "That's all you need to know."

"How about your native village?" Orochimaru followed Kakashi. "I'm from Konoha."

"I didn't ask you."

"It's called being friendly." Orochimaru said between gritted teeth, trying his best not to let his anger get the best of him.

"I _don't _like friendly." With that said Kakashi did a shadow clone and turned to face Orochimaru. _Kakashi, repeat after me, way of Restraining number 8, Obstruction. _Kakashi knew that voice. Darius.

"That's quite mean Konen-san."

"Way of restraining number eight, Obstruction." Kakashi placed his hand on Orochimaru and instantaneously, he couldn't move. It happened so fast, Orochimaru couldn't defend himself. He fell to the ground, as if his hands and legs were bound by a rope. After the clones managed to free the Akatsuki, Kakashi evoked wind and were out in a few seconds.


	7. Chapter 7

Path Of Radiance

Chapter 7:

Shizune stood before Tsunade, waiting to speak. Tsunade had a feeling that Shizune had good news; she couldn't help the sinking feeling.

"Speak." She commanded.

"Well, in all the villages, there hasn't a single person named Konen Hashimoto. The closest we've gotten was a man called Hitoshi Hashimoto and he wasn't even a shinobi. The other was a female by the name of Konan. She's currently part of the Akatsuki."

"In other words, the name is an alias?"

Shizune nodded.

"Bring me Hinata, Sakura and Shino."

"Hai."

Shizune vanished from the Hokage's eyes, Tsunade was now left confused. _Why would Akatsuki's leader use an alias? _She got up and looked through the window, hoping that the shinobi will be able to find out.

About thirty minutes later, the shinobi strolled in. Hinata was the usual, nervous looking, while Sakura looked very excited and Shino looked the same as always. Tsunade shook her head and stifled a laugh.

"You called for us?" Hinata started.

"Yes." She walked forwards to lean on her table facing them. "It's an S-rank mission. You'll be pretending to be missing- nins to be a part of the Akatsuki."

"What?!" Sakura said out of shock. "That's crazy."

"I believe you can do it." She said with a smile. "And also, you'll need to find out the leader's true identity."

"Isn't his name Konen? What more do you need than that?" Shino asked.

"It's an alias." All three exchanged glances at that statement.

"But why would he use an alias?" Hinata asked. "Since he's not of his village anymore, why would he do that?"

"That's what I want you to find out. You'll begin tomorrow."

"Why is it a problem that he chose to use an alias?" Sakura asked. "It's not like it's affecting us."

"Yes it is. Don't you find it a bit strange an Akatsuki leader is obsessed with Konoha? And don't you find it odd that he's not interested in the nine tails either?" Tsunade said, folding her arms in that process.

"Come to think of it," Shino said, "it is rather strange."

"See my point?" Tsunade said as she eased off the table and walked towards the door and past the shinobi. "That's all." The ninjas nodded and walked out of the room.

* * *

Hidan swung his feet back and forth from the branch, Itachi sat at the base of the same tree, Kakuzu was nowhere to be found and Deidara was sleeping. Kakashi and Darius were at a distance, and he was teaching Kakashi a few summoning spells.

"What am I going to summon?" Kakashi asked. "I hope not a demon."

"What if it were?" Darius countered. "It's benefitting you."

"How?"

"Who knows if something happens that you'll need to summon a demon?"

"Who knows if something won't happen that I need to summon a demon?" Kakashi countered with a grin.

"Anyway, it's not a demon." Darius said with nonchalance. "You're going to summon two of my minions―Botan and Hideki." Kakashi gulped feeling a wave of fear engulf him. He turned to look at the Akatsuki, and all four men gave him a thumps up. However, deep inside Hidan was laughing because Kakashi's facial expression was hilarious. Itachi really didn't care about anything at all, but for Deidara and Kakuzu, they were quite enthused about this summoning.

"It's quite simple." Darius grinned, his dark eyes sparkling. "You'd be calling their names and slamming your palm into the ground. They'd be arising from the ground because they're both Fallen."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Then begin!" Deidara shouted. "I want to see some demon arising out of the ground."

Kakashi made no comment on that statement. He sighed miserably, afraid of summoning those two. Anyway, he went down on one knee, and placed his right palm on the icy ground. "Arise Botan and Hideki to serve your master." Kakashi said. Darius was taken aback, as he didn't tell Kakashi to say that. He got up off the ground and stepped back a little. Suddenly, a black spiraling hole appeared and both Botan and Hideki were slowly coming up. When they were fully onto the earth, they bowed down to Kakashi. "You called us, Master?"

"Yes, I did." Kakashi said with a smile. He turned to Darius and Deidara and Kakuzu and said, "Satisfied?"

"Yeah, but I didn't tell you to say that to summon them."

"You didn't?"

"Nope."

Deidara and Kakuzu were speechless. As for Darius, he's grinning as he's seeing that Kakashi is becoming more and more like him and unfortunately, not in the evil way. He sighed heavily at that, the horrid reality setting in. He was trapped within the depths of Kakashi's soul for all eternity, powerless. He can't do anything without Kakashi's permission, which means he can't rule the humans for all eternity. It ached Darius, knowing that he was once a powerful fallen angel, but now, he's just a trapped soul. He came out of those thoughts, and held Kakashi on his shoulder.

"Quit zoning out," Kakashi said. "Why are they dressed like that? Shouldn't they be in white robes and all that angelic stuff?" Kakashi stared at Botan and Hideki with disgust. They were both dressed in black jeans which looked a bit tattered and neither of them had on shoes nor shirts.

"They―We're Fallen so that's how we dress." Darius shrugged. "And it's more comfortable than those long hot robes and golden girdles around your waist."

"Oh."

"Now, it's the time to summon the Fallen who hold the four entities of the earth."

"What?"

"You're going to summon Goban, Gorobei, Gezeiten and Geitei."

"And they are..?"

"Listen." Darius walked upwards from Kakashi over to an oak tree, and said, "I want you to summon Goban right here," he then walked several metres to the left and tapped his right foot this time, "Gorobei, right here," He walked downwards from that spot, and smiled and said, "this is where Geitei will be and…" Darius walked right back to where He and Kakashi were standing before. "Move, this is where Gezeiten will be."

"And how will I actually summon them?" Kakashi asked with folded arms. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to tell you all the incants for all four of them and then I take you step by step." Darius was grinning way too much. "Ten thousand servants fall to your feet, flood this earth with the torrents and cover it like a sheet; I call upon you, the spirit of the torrential entity, Goban. One can't have death without Spirit, one can't die without having a soul, and I call upon you the one who holds the Spirit entity, Gorobei. Soothing water, violent fire, turbulent storm, elements can come in every form, Night turns to day, and stars move out the sun's way, I call upon the Spirit of the Ambiance entity, Geitei. One can't live and not die, one can't have Spirit and know no death, I call you upon the earth, Gezeiten, the one who rules the Death."

"That was quite…" Kakashi trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I know that these summons can't be easy." Hidan said, "All those Spirits of…"

"Let's get cracking then." Darius said. "This is where you'll need Botan and Hideki."

"What for?"

"Safety."

"Botan. Hideki." Kakashi called, "Stay by my side and protect me from danger."

"As you wish Master." Both Fallen angels were at Kakashi's side in an instant, both having swords of white fire.

"So they can't see Darius?" Itachi asked, that little fact somewhat bothering him.

"No, it's because I don't want them to."

"Oh." Itachi and Darius and the others were suddenly engaged in a conversation which seemed like it wouldn't be ending for now. Kakashi took a few steps from the group, and knelt down on his knee. He closed his eyes and immediately he could see the incants that Darius had earlier said. He then walked to the oak tree but then he stopped. _I wonder if I could summon all of them at once? _Kakashi was feeling extremely lazy, so he decided to give it a shot. He walked into the center of the area, and looked at the ground then whispered, "Ten thousand servants fall to your feet, flood this earth with the torrents and cover it like a sheet; I call upon you, the spirit of the torrential entity, Goban. One can't have death without Spirit, one can't die without having a soul, and I call upon you the one who holds the Spirit entity, Gorobei. Soothing water, violent fire, turbulent storm, elements can come in every form, Night turns to day, and stars move out the sun's way, I call upon the Spirit of the Ambiance entity, Geitei. One can't live and not die, one can't have Spirit and know no death, I call you upon the earth, Gezeiten, the one who rules the Death." As he placed his palms on the ground, a black streak ran from his fingertips, and spread out on the ground going into five directions until they fused into four directions. Then, at the end of the four black streaks, winds spiralled around until a figure could be seen. After a few seconds, four men stood, two of them had black hair while the other two had mud-brown hairs. All four men's eyes were blood red and looked deadly. Immediately, Botan and Hideki stepped in front of him, in a defensive stance.

"They aren't nice at all." Botan said, his voice was coarse as gravel.

"What do you mean?"

Darius and the others rushed to where Kakashi was. Darius was actually clapping, a wave of pride enveloping him.

"What are they?" Kakashi turned to Darius and said.

"You're worst nightmare."


	8. Chapter 8

Path of Radiance

Chapter 8:

Through the thick forest, three shinobi fled hastily though, trying their best to find the Akatsuki before nightfall. Hinata was using her byakugan extensively, but up till now, there hasn't been a sign of anyone.

"Why did she choose us?" Sakura frowned. "Join Akatsuki just to find out the leader's real name? That's…"

"She does have a point, you know Sakura." Shino said. "In the end you'll see."

"I'm picking up something." Hinata said, "If we hurry, we can reach them."

"Ok."

Kakashi was shocked as what Darius uttered out his mouth was unbelievable. Hidan and Deidara only looked on with amazement. Kakuzu and Itachi looked careless.

"My worst nightmare?" Before Kakashi could breathe properly after saying that sentence, a huge fire ball came raging at them. They quickly retreated, but still in clear view of the Fallen. All four of them seemed upset, but Kakashi wondered what could've upset them. Kakashi saw one of the brown haired men, stretched out his hands, and the earth suddenly rocked with a violent shake. Kakashi looked at Darius who could tell what he needed to know.

"That's Geitei, he can control the Ambiance entity."

"And what's that?"

"Dominion over all the elements."

"Why did you make me summon them then?"

"You needed the exercise."

Kakashi gave Darius a devastating glare, and all Darius could do was shrug. "You son of a ―"

"Kakashi!" Itachi shouted. Kakashi spun around in the right time to dodge a punch to the face. He rolled onto his knees, and held his chest.

"Damn," He muttered. "I'm going to kill Darius."

"Impossible to do." Kakashi was jolted as Darius was right beside him. "You can't be alive and kill the dead."

"I hate you," Kakashi snapped.

"You and millions of other angels and humans." Darius said nonchalantly. "The real reason why I made you summon those four it's because if you can control them, then you'll be able to summon and control the others who are Fallen." A grin appeared on Kakashi's face, as he charged directly at the Fallen. By Kakashi's rash action, Darius threw his hands into the air then placed them on his head as if he knew that Kakashi was running into a death trap. _Thank God Botan and Hideki aren't idiots, _Darius sighed a relief, knowing that Kakashi won't die. Hopefully. He sat down on the ground, watching Kakashi.

Kakashi swung a punch so mighty; it connected with both Geitei and Goban's faces. Both were thrown a few distances away, but Kakashi was thrown in the other direction, as he forgot about the other two―Gezeiten and Gorobei. He lodged in a tree, head spinning from that attack. Darius looked at Botan and Hideki but unfortunately, they couldn't see him. He directed his eyes back at Kakashi, who was boiling with anger. His eyes were no longer calm and collected but are as if they blazed with a flame of fire.

"You guys should get out of the way." He said to the Akatsuki.

"Why?" Hidan asked, not liking being told what to do.

"This is going to get _very _messy." As Darius said this, a huge explosion sent dust, dirt and trees flying in their direction. Everyone ducked away from the debris, and after the dust cleared, Kakashi and Darius were nowhere to be seen. Itachi and the others looked around in bewilderment as there was no sign or hint of where they could've gone.

"Where have they gone?!" Hidan yelled in annoyance.

"You won't know if you stay here." Deidara said while moving off. "I just hope they aren't far away."

Kakashi arched backwards to avoid a shock of lightning. Geitei was boiling with anger, while Botan and Hideki were busy with the other three. Kakashi was more than determined to get control over Geitei first, so he can have double amount elements to conquer the other three. But, Geitei is as stubborn as they get. Kakashi kept taking quick steps backward, so he could think of a plan to subdue the Fallen. Soon, the healthy evergreen forest became a back-drop to the sandy plains. However, unlike the forest, the plains had no sign of snow. A smirk rose on Kakashi's face as he knew that Geitei could control only the elements, and right here, the sand blows in one's face, making vision sometimes impossible. Quickly, he created five clones, which all charged at Geitei. But, as they were close enough, a wave of sand appeared from around them and then engulfed them.

"Didn't you know that sand can be controlled as if it were an element?" Geitei's voice was liken unto many waters, and Kakashi hated the sound of it.

"How can you?"

"Sand is a combination of the earth and wind elements." He said as he spun a few sand pebbles in his palms. "The wind breaks up the earth into smaller and lighter pieces, otherwise known as sand." Within the blink of an eye, Geitei was in Kakashi's face. "But, _pathetic _mortals like you wouldn't know that." That statement got Kakashi enraged. He kicked the ground, sending a pillar of earth and sand flying into the air, along with Geitei. Quickly, Geitei evoked the wind element, which blew the sand out of his face and sent him flying back to Kakashi. As he came into close proximity, he evoked sand, turned the particles into fine needle like objects, which aimed at Kakashi from all direction one could think of. They came crashing into his skin, his blood littering the ground like scattered leaves. He collapsed onto his fours, and even so, the needles came at him without mercy. _Kakashi! Use fire, now! _He knew that voice. Darius was helping him. Without hesitation, fire was surging around Kakashi. Then, it was a pillar of orange and red going up into the sky. Kakashi was hidden within it, listening keenly to what Darius instructed.

"Geitei hates the fire element. If you can bound him with it then you should burn him with hellfire." Darius said with folded arms.

"Understood." Kakashi stepped through the raging pillar of fire, and faced Geitei. The Fallen's face screwed, seeing that fire is in such abundance before him. Kakashi jumped at him, Geitei going backwards. Kakashi evoked wind and mist, swung his hand in a forward movement. This caused the sand on the ground to rise, and the mist impeding Geitei's vision. By the time Geitei should do something, Kakashi had already evoked fire, shaped it into a rope form, and latched it around Geitei's legs. Geitei fell to the ground, then, Kakashi evoked the hellfire element, and wrapped it around his hands. Geitei was now defenceless, as he hates fire but it's also his point of weakness.

"Now, Geitei," Kakashi had a nasty grin on his face, somewhat resembling Darius in his evil days. "Either you be my minion or I'll send you into the lowest part of hell." Kakashi was now smirking. "And I'm sure you don't want to be in the Infernus now would you?" Geitei shook his head. Kakashi released him, and walked off.

"What should I do, Master?"

"Help me take down the other three."

Kakashi and Geitei raced back to the forest, looking keenly for Botan or Hideki, knowing that those two are battling the other Fallen. As they reached the edge of the forest, that was Gezeiten flying past them. It happened so fast, Kakashi and Geitei stood in bewilderment. Gezeiten sprang back onto his feet and charged forwards, and then, Botan came out if the forest with a long blade extended towards Gezeiten.

"We have to take our time with Gezeiten as well." Geitei said. "He's the master of Death."

"Yeah. I know." Kakashi smirked. "Geitei, attack him first." Geitei charged towards Gezeiten without hesitation, while Kakashi stood and spoke to Darius in his inner world.

"What's his weak spot?" Kakashi asked, taking a seat on one of the pillars. It was the highest pillar out of all.

"It's a no-brainer. You forgot what Hitomi and the others taught you." Darius sighed miserably. "If you're a master of the dark elements, then your weaknesses are the Spirit and Star elements. Darkness hates light."

"Thank you." Kakashi vanished from before Darius, and noticed that Geitei and Botan weren't fighting but was on the defense. "Geitei, attack him with star," He turned to look at Botan. "Where's Hideki and the other two?"

"Somewhere on the sands."

"Shit."

Deidara, Hidan and Itachi ran towards Suna, hearing the explosions so near to the village. Deidara figured that since the explosions were there, Kakashi and the Fallen were fighting. The closer they got, they noticed that, none of the figures were Kakashi, but were the Fallen. Immediately, they halted in their tracks, not wanting to go into fire. Hideki was having a rough time with Goban and Gorobei, trying his best to prevent Goban from unleashing his torrential wrath. Hideki knew that if the sands are flooded out, it would be a muddy chaos.

Kakashi shot across the plains of the sands with lightning speed, hoping to reach Gorobei in time. He neared Suna, and immediately, he stopped. He hoped that the village isn't caught in this mess, because they were, it would be nothing but trouble. Then, Kakashi unfurled his pristine wings, with knees bent; he thrust off into the air, leaving behind him a sonic boom. The skies were clearer than the ground; overall, it was sandless, compared to the ground which seemed like he was trapped in a sand storm. Soon, he was above Hideki and the Fallen. Without any further ado, he evoked the night element and shot it at Gorobei. But, Gorobei saw it coming and grabbed Goban, throwing him into the ball. Goban was hit directly, stunting him in the process. He hit the ground, creating a crater. Gorobei smirked, and not before long, had two white balls around his hands. By this time, Kakashi made his wings recede.

"Die mortal." Gorobei hissed.

"That's where you're wrong." Kakashi had a smile. "I. Am. Immortal." Gorobei's eyes widen with shock but he said nothing. "And Darius' reincarnate." That was a mistake. The moment Kakashi said this, Gorobei was beyond pissed.

"I hate you." Gorobei launched at Kakashi so fast, he hadn't any time to react. Kakashi was sent flying into the village of Suna, destroying a number of buildings. He came to stop in the road, lying on his back. He opened his eyes just in time to avoid a blow to the stomach. He rolled over onto his side, and then a pillar of earth extended into the air, taking Kakashi with it. He knew that Gaara was bound to show up soon, and that wouldn't be pretty.

"Gorobei why don't you just obey me so we can all live in peace?"

"For thousands of years you've oppressed us and made us your slaves. We will never be your slaves again." Gorobei spat.

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I'm only twenty-six years old, but you _will _call me master." A blue glow formed around Kakashi's body; making his hair seemed to have a mind of his own. He dashed at Gorobei, grabbing him and transferring the blue energy to him. "You _will _obey my every command." Gorobei arched from the sudden rush of pain, slowly falling to the ground. He wanted to escape, but Kakashi's grasp was firm and with that energy taking over his body, he was couldn't even kill a fly. After a few seconds, both Kakashi and Gorobei had no blue glow to their bodies, but Kakashi was grinning. That simply means he's the victor.

But then, Hideki knocked him out if his thoughts. Kakashi looked at him and immediately, he knew what Hideki was saying. He dashed out of the village, scanning the plains to see Goban. However, he wasn't hard to find. The skies were darkening, an indicator that rain was near. But that couldn't be a good sign. Rain on the sands? Not good.

"Geitei!" Kakashi called out of panic. Within a whisk, Geitei was as his side.

"Yes my Lord?"

"How's it going with Gezeiten?"

"Not well."

"Anyway, I need your help. What's Goban's specialty?"

"He's the torrential master."

"Shit. If he unleashes rain will you be able to stop it from flooding the sands?"

"No." sounding a bit bitchy.

"Damn." He turned to face to the other way where Hideki and Gorobei were. "We're going to take down Goban."


	9. Chapter 9

Path of Radiance

Chapter 9:

The quartet raced towards Goban's energy force, hoping that they won't be too late in preventing the sands from flooding out. Kakashi was behind them, trying to formulate a plan in the meantime. _What made Goban so angry? _Kakashi pondered long and hard and then it came back to him. Gorobei caused it. _That Spirited bitch caused all this shit and now I'm the one who has to fix this shit._

"Guys, listen to the plan." Kakashi's voice was powerful and domineering, all the other three were shaken. "Gorobei, you'll fight him head-on while the rest of us attack at intervals where he wouldn't notice your presence."

"Yes, Master." They all responded.

"Temari. Kankuro." Gaara called. "There's something we have to investigate."

"What's that?" Temari asked.

"Something or someone is fighting in our village and destroying it and it started from the outside." Gaara said coolly. "I will not tolerate it." Gaara walked through the door, Temari and Kankuro following behind. When they reached out onto the streets, the scene was a shock to Gaara. He saw storm clouds. Very dark storm clouds.

"Is it…" Temari trailed off, "going to rain?"

"I hope not." Kankuro answered gazing at the sky. "I really do."

"Let's not stay here. We have to catch our perpetrators." With those words, Gaara walked off towards the gates.

Geitei had bound Goban's limbs as the mist evoked by Geitei was worst than darkness. He thrashed wildly, trying feverishly to escape. But the star element was too strong, and plus Gorobei had Spirit restraining his movements even more. Kakashi stood afar off, examining everything and hoping to formulate a plan that will bring him down. But then, a thought struck Kakashi. There was another one. Gezeiten. And he'd left Botan all alone with the Death god. He shook his head to rid the thoughts and focused back to the fight. He knew he couldn't do this without help, and as much as he and Darius are sort-of closer now, he still hates the idea of asking him for help. But he had to.

"Darius," He called calmly.

"What now?" He asked, folding his arms. They were in a dark room; Darius seemed to be more than comfortable in the wooden chair he was seated in. But then the room seemed to be gradually getting lighter. As the room slowly became completely illuminated, Kakashi could see exactly why Darius seemed so comfortable. The chair was that of a king's, having rich purple clothed its décor. The handles were made of pure gold and its seat was of course, purple linen. Beside him was another seat, just like his.

"Why are there two seats?" Kakashi asked, clearly lost in awe.

"One for me," Darius said as he ran his hand on the handles of his chair. He then looked at the other and grinned, a speck of pride glint in his eyes. "One for you," Kakashi was surprised as what Darius just said. But what shocked him the most was that where all these things could have come from.

"How do I tame Goban because right now he's as pissed as a toad slapped by a cat."

"So why should you care?"

"He's going to flood the sands!"

"How do you know that?"

"He's formed storm clouds! Why would he form them if he wasn't going to flood the place?!"

"How do you know his intentions?"

"Damn! Why are you such a bastard!? Just tell ―"

"He's the water god. Water hates electricity."

"That's it?"

"Every element has an opposite which can be either their weak points or strong points. For example, fire's strength is wind but its weakness is water. Understand?"

"Clearly." Kakashi smirked. As he turned, he noticed that the place actually looked like a palace. It's no longer flooded with glistening blue waters and towering pillars but now decked with elegance and royalty. The floor was tiled with shimmering tiles, and in those tiles had a variation of shapes; squares, triangles and circles. Gold drowned in the creases, and above was a golden chandelier. Curtains of fine purple linen draped to reveal windows. Kakashi's brows furrowed, as he was lost as to why was there windowsin his _inner _world. He turned to look at Darius who just shrugged his shoulders.

"It's mostly your world, not mine."

"I know but ―"

"Go on; take a look if you want."

He was a bit hesitant, but then walked towards the window. However, he didn't look out. He turned back and gave Darius a shrug. "I'm going back to the outside." Then he vanished.

As he snapped back to reality, he noticed that everyone else was gone, and Goban was grinning. He looked dead on at Kakashi, picking his nails in the process.

"I was beginning to wonder if you weren't coming back."

"What's it to you?"

"Everything." He lunged at Kakashi, who arched backwards to avoid the blow. Quickly, he evoked the hellfire element, and shot it at him. Goban twisted in mid-air to avoid it and brought down his foot to strike Kakashi in his abdomen. However, Kakashi grabbed his ankle and sent lightning raving onto his body. Goban screamed and thrashed about, trying hopelessly to get free. Kakashi had a smirk of victory on his face, and soon was on sand. Goban still had a scowl on his face; he hates the fact that his _master _is Darius' reincarnate. And they all hate Darius with all their being. Kakashi knew that he's pissed but he didn't care. All that was on his mind was to Gezeiten to obey him. And to make matters worse, Gezeiten rules the Death entity. If they're not careful, they're screwed. As Kakashi dragged Goban further, he heard a groan. He looked in the direction, and saw Hideki slowly rising to his feet. He rushed towards him, and aided him.

"Where're the others?"

"Scattered all over the sands. Goban…" He looked at Goban with disdain, "used a spell that shot us in all direction."

"Shit." Kakashi eyed a grinning Goban. "You just love to see people suffer, don't you?"

"It was my duty."

"Son of a bitch." Kakashi took off his right foot sandal, and softly tapped the ground. The earth element was evoked and it became like his eyes, scanning the sandy plains for any signs of them. Not before long, he found them all. Even though they were a bit distant from each other. "Argh! Geitei! Gorobei!" He shouted. "Come here immediately!" He was frustrated, and because of that, he just shouted what he did. He needed to blow off some steam, and he thought that it was the only way he saw fit. However, within a second of doing so, Geitei and Gorobei were bowing down at his feet. Kakashi was shocked, as he didn't expect this at all. _Damn. _He moved off going in the direction of Suna. The Akatsuki were also watching the fights, and he figured more or less, he _had _to go get them. He rolled his eyes with disgust, as he missed his old life so much. Now he has to keep grown men in check and try to gain control over fallen angels from heaven. Such epic drama. He shook his head, and slowly walked to the village.

"Gone are the days when I used to wreak havoc on these sandy plains with Sasori." Deidara sighed. "I wish I could go back to those days."

"But sadly, because of Kakashi's spell, we can't do that." Kakuzu frowned. "I guess this is the punishment for our sins."

"Oh shut up," Itachi snapped. "This is no punishment. This is just a curse."

"Can we go now?" Hidan said, totally breaking the mood and changing the subject. "I mean, the sand is flowing into my face, into my eyes and even my mouth!"

"Fine, Kakashi can find us." Kakuzu moved off, hurrying to the white forest.


	10. Chapter 10

Path of Radiance

Chapter 10:

Hideki was now in front of Kakashi who was beside Goban and in front of Geitei and Gorobei. The walking pace was fairly steady, but then, Kakashi remembered that he had another Fallen to conquer.

"Gorobei," he began, "you and Geitei head to the forest to aid Botan. He's fighting Gezeiten."

"No prob. We shall do what you ask to our greatest abilities so it will be pleasing to you."

"Ok…Geitei show him the way."

"Yes, my lord."

Kakashi was a bit confused about those fallen angels. He hardly met them and they've been calling him 'lord' and to top that off, Gorobei's sentence was shocking. _No wonder why Darius loved ruling them so much. _Kakashi's pace gradually slowed, feeling another presence nearby. He stopped, turned his head to look left. He could see three figures in the distance, and cocked his head to the right. He was puzzled, as he didn't know who it was. But as the figures came closer, Kakashi could see blond hair with a huge black fan, red hair with a gourd and another clothed in full black. Immediately, he knew who it was. _Not good. _ When he turned back around, he noticed that everyone else was gone.

"Great." Kakashi sighed, he just continued to walk. He figured that maybe they were going somewhere else. Totally not his business or his care in the world. But unfortunately, he thought wrong. As he took another step, sand pushed him backwards. Kakashi was surprised as he didn't expect that. He wiped his face, to rid the sand that was there. When his vision was focused, he saw Gaara with Temari and Kankuro behind him.

"You destroyed my village's road." Gaara's voice was calm and collected as always.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to." Kakashi tried to explain. "I was viciously thrown into your village. I didn't ―"

"What are you doing in The Sands?" Temari asked, her voice was sharp.

"I was looking for someone but trouble found me instead." Kakashi chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head. But Gaara didn't care. Neither Temari nor Kankurou.

"Desert Coffin." Gaara mumbled under his breath. He stretched out his hand and was slowly balling it into a fist. Kakashi stood there, not knowing what was happening. Sand slowly rose around him, and in the blink of an eye, the sand was circling around Kakashi. _Oh shit._ Kakashi evoked fire, so that the sand would burn. He formed a ball and then made it expand so far that he could have evoked earth and escape. However, Temari saw his actions. Quickly, she drew her fan and aimed for him. With one swing, she said, "Wind Scythe jutsu." A strong breeze blew in Kakashi's direction, and as he saw it coming, he stretched out his left hand and then moved it in a wiping motion. The wind from the jutsu was re-directed back to its origin, but luckily, the three Sand Ninja's were able to avoid it. Once more, Gaara attacked Kakashi with sand, but Kakashi didn't want to fight them. He ran in the opposite direction, the sand hot on his tail. Momentarily, he would glance over his shoulder to see how far the sand was. But, the sand was near. Too near. It grabbed his feet, causing him to fall into the sandy ground. He couldn't move because the sand was slowly crushing his bones. He wailed in agony, as pain erupted within his body.

"You idiot." Kakashi groaned as he raised his head upwards to see who spoke. He could only manage to see bare feet, and blue denim trousers. He placed his head back down, knowing who it was.

"Don't you remember what Geitei did?" Darius stooped downwards and cocked his head to the side. He lifts up Kakashi's chin and shook his head. "Sand can be controlled as if it were an element. Even if that same sand is already being controlled by this chakra shit mortals use."

"Really?" Kakashi strained to say.

"You better hurry because the sand is spreading to kill you." And with those words, he disappeared. When Kakashi realized how far the sand was, it was almost at his neck. Kakashi panicked as the sand kept climbing. _Sand is a combination of the earth and wind elements. _Kakashi evoked earth and wind within, and not before long, he didn't feel the crushing pain of the sand. The sand slowly receded off his body like water running off the shore. When the sand was completely off his body, he quickly evoked star to heal himself. Gaara and the others were more than surprised. Kakashi rose to his feet quickly and sent the sand to attack the Sand Nins. Gaara tried to regain control of his sand but it was futile. Kakashi had absolute domain over the sand. As the sand moved closer to the ninjas, it paused in mid-air and then it became rope-like. It went behind Gaara and then into the gourd. Temari and Kakurou exchanged glances as they couldn't believe what just happened. Kakashi smiled at them and then ran off in the opposite direction.

The Akatsuki went back to where they were when Kakashi summoned the Fallen. Each of them sat on a tree branch, boredom kicking in. They stared at the horizon, watching the sunset. The day had seemed longer than usual, but the good thing was the snow was melting. Hidan then got up and dragged Deidara with him. Deidara didn't reject but continued to follow.

"Where are we going?" He asked Hidan.

"Going to train." Hidan shrugged. "It makes no sense we sit and lounge around for the rest of the day."

When Kakashi entered the forest, the sight before him sickened him. Totally. Botan was slung over a branch of the tree and bleeding half to death, Hideki was hiding behind a tree, blood drenching his jeans and hair matt with sweat, Goban was motionless on the snowy ground, lying in a pool of blood, and Gorobei and Geitei were trying to keep off Gezeiten. He was more than a hand full, and to make things worse, Gezeiten has total control over the death entity. Which meant that if they messed up, they're done for. Kakashi immediately ran to Botan, feeling guilty that he left the poor man all alone to fight one of the strongest Fallen angel. The star element was around his fist, and as he placed his fist on Botan, he heard Botan let out a groan.

"I'm so sorry Botan."

"It's alright Master." He coughed. "It was my duty."

"No it wasn't." Kakashi said. "I want control over all four Fallen but I let you fight Gezeiten all alone. That's ―"

"It's alright. I'm used to this anyway." Botan rose to his feet, and slowly stood up. Kakashi didn't say anything because he was basically finished with him anyway. "Are you ready to go after Gezeiten?"

"Yeah." Kakashi grinned. "And give those a rest." Kakashi jogged up to heat of the battle, and when he was in close proximity of Gezeiten, he evoked earth. A massive wall emerged from out of the ground, barring off Kakashi and the others from Gezeiten. Then, he evoked Spirit, knowing that Gezeiten would use Death to rot away the wall. As the wall came crumbling, Gezeiten was visible, Kakashi placed chakra in his feet and sped towards him. Before Gezeiten could react, Kakashi had already punched him with Spirit. He was sent flying into nearby thicket, panting for air. Kakashi reached up to him within a second, and punched him. The ground cracked, Gezeiten went deeper into the ground than before. Kakashi's brows furrowed, not remembering that he had a surplus of raw strength without having to evoke earth. Gezeiten lied on his back, motionless. Kakashi sighs a relief as he thought that he won. He ran back to aid Hideki but Gorobei and Geitei were already there.

He sat down on the ground, and that was when he felt it. A rumbling occurred, and as he looked about, he could see a black, poisonous aura arising from the crater where Gezeiten was. Kakashi began trembling with fear, as he could feel that Gezeiten was pissed. Without thinking, he ran into the heart of it having both the star and spirit elements around his palms. He shot it downwards, as he couldn't see because of the black aura. The lights were lost but afterwards, came a wail. A smile rose on his face but then before he could rejoice, Gezeiten grabbed his thorat.

"I'm going to kill you." Gezeiten's voice was deep, deep in baritone or tenor and it sounded so evil, Kakashi was trembling. Kakashi clawed at Gezeiten's hands but it was no use. As he squeezed tighter, Kakashi's eyes were slowly rolling back, but then he evoked spirit. He sent through his body to Gezeiten's causing him to let go. Gezeiten rolled about and thrashed about trying to stop the burning of the spirit element. He screamed but it just wouldn't stop. _Lucky for me, the others have exhausted him so much. _Kakashi was grinning. "I give up!" He bellowed. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" Gezeiten cried with a loud voice, arching forwards, falling into the crater further.

"I am your Master, now."

"Yes…" Gezeiten could hardly talk because of the burning. Kakashi grinned, and held him by the hand and pulled him out of the crater.


	11. Chapter 11

Path Of Radiance

Chapter 11

Kakashi lied down on the snowy ground, more than exhausted. The sunset was beautiful; everything with snow no longer looked pristine and fragile but now decked with outstanding orange. As Kakashi lay there, he noticed something. He sprang upwards, and looked at Deidara.

"What?" Deidara snapped. "You're freaking me out."

"Today is just ending?"

"Yeah." He said in a matter-of-factly.

"Which means that everything happened all in one day?!" Kakashi rose to his feet in disbelief. "Going to Konoha, cutting your hairs, searching for my lost ring, learning the spells, taming the Fallen, saving you from Orcohimaru, sparring, busting you out of jail…damn."

"That's what you call a hectic day." Itachi said with a chuckle.

"That was more than hectic." Kakuzu said sounding miserable. He hated the fact that the Copy Nin was now their leader, and he hated the fact that Kakashi had changed their physical appearance. He hated everything that has been happening lately and he wished that he had escaped with Kisame that time. Kakashi gazed at the horizon, looking like he was sick. His eyes were baggy, and his skin looked paler than the usual. And all of that was due to over-exhaustion. He even seemed a bit distant, not moving, just gazing aimlessly. After a while, his eye lids slowly closed and he fell into sleep.

* * *

"I can't believe it's nightfall and we haven't found them yet." Sakura cursed. "I don't understand why they kept changing locations."

"They were fighting." Hinata answered, sounding annoyed. "I told you guys that."

"But for what though?"

"That's not for us to find out." Shino joined in. "We're only to find out the leader's true identity." The shinobi continued their search for the Akatsuki, hoping that they'll be successful before the next day begins. Soon, they neared a clearing. Shino sent out his bugs to investigate if any danger was lurking. He didn't want Hinata to use her byakugan because she has already used it extensively. When the bugs returned, Shino nodded and the two girls followed him into the open area. They're feet landed with a soft tap, and not even a second later, Kakashi knew that they were there.

"Why are you here?" he asked without moving out of his position, nor did he open his eyes. "You better explain."

"We're here because we want to be part of the Akatsuki." Hinata answered. Kakashi sprang up so fast as he couldn't believe his ears. He looked at them and a smile appeared on his face. He knew who they were because of their chakra signatures. He cocked his head to one side, after examining their outfits. Shino was clothed in dark blue jeans with his hooded shirt matching his pants. He had on a white shirt beneath it and of course he couldn't ditch his sunglasses. As for Hinata, she was in black shorts with a lavender blouse. Kakashi shook his head as Sakura's outfit was nothing surprising. She wore a fiery red mini-skirt and a bubble-gum coloured top. Kakashi walked over to them, and stood before Hinata.

"We have to can trust you." He walked in a circle around her, hoping that she might crack. "I want you to assassinate the Hokage of Konoha." He saw all three stiffen with shock, but he knew they wouldn't ―couldn't ―do that. It's just impossible.

"Ok, we'll do it." Shino pivoted on his heel, beckoned to Sakura and Hinata to follow him. Kakashi was awestruck as he didn't expect them to say that. _Hopefully they're just bluffing._ After they were long gone, Kakashi moved off to follow them. The other Akatsuki members only stared on with shock, finding it hard to believe their eyes and ears. No one moved, after all, they were tired.

"What are we going to do?!" Sakura panicked. "Kill Tsunade?"

"No, I'm going to tell her what he told us to do and hopefully, she comes up with a plan to fake her death to him."

"Good thinking,"

"I've already sent my bugs out to her." Shino sighed miserably, not wanting to do this any at all. He hated that he had to change his comfortable casual wear and he hated that he had to join the _Akatsuki._ So far they've reached halfway the distance, not wanting to reach Konoha too quick and have to really fight her. That would just be wrong. However, they were moving much faster than they thought. Konoha was in the eye-shot, and feelings of dread overcome them all. They stopped short on a branch, looking at the prestigious village.

"I see you've reached here relatively quickly." Kakashi said, leaning on a tree. "Surprising,"

"We just want to show you that we are capable of becoming part of the Akatsuki."

Kakashi laughed. "There's no need to do that."

"Huh?" all three said in unison.

"There's no way I'd make you kill Tsunade-sama." He bit the inside of his lip realizing his mistake. "She's the best there is, and plus I couldn't let you take a good life. That's wrong." The shinobi exchanged glances as this was astonishing. The leader of the Akatuski saying that something is wrong? "Let's go back now shall we?" Kakashi stretched forth his hand and they each took it. Within a whisk, they were back to where they were via the lightning transport. Kakashi walked to the Akatsuki who were basically asleep. He rolled his eyes and then he tapped the ground with his feet. The earth responded, at first came upwards as a wall but then arched over the Akatsuki to form something resembling a cave. But it was massive though. The three shinobi looked on with amazement, as they have never seen anyone do something like that.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Kakashi said while walking towards it, "it's basically night-time and we need rest."

"Oh sure." Sakura said quickly, following the Akatsuki leader. Once inside, the opening closed ensuring that nothing and no one could enter. Then Kakashi created small openings like windows on each side of the cave. However, he ensured that the one on the left was directly facing so that they could use the moon's light. After all is done, Kakashi sat down and began asking questions.

"So why exactly do you want to join Akatsuki?"

"It's because well, I hate how the village is being managed," Hinata spoke first, not really sure if that answer seems believable. "That's my problem, really."

"Then why don't you aim to be Hokage so you could change that?" Kakashi countered. "Hn?"

"I don't think I can do that."

"But you can at least try. Never doubt yourself, when you do that you'll never reach anywhere and you'll never know your full potential. Just give it a shot." Kakashi sounded very motivational, and he himself couldn't believe it. "So how about you Pink Lady?" He looked at Sakura intently, wanting to laugh at her outfit.

"I just want to fit in somewhere." She replied, not looking at Kakashi. "I want to feel like I'm actually useful and worth something."

"I still don't see your point." Kakashi yawned. "If you want to feel useful it's not up to _them_. When you get missions don't they realize your strength? Don't they see how much your worth? I'm sure that you're a medic, shouldn't that be enough?"

"I don't ―"

"Look, if you keep watching what people say, girl, you're going to be miserable and lonely." Kakashi stretched going into a position lying down. "Don't listen to what people say. Ever." Sakura and Hinata looked at each other then back at Kakashi. Both were stunned as they didn't expect that kind of reaction and answer. As for Shino, he really didn't care. He just wanted this mission to be over with. But it seems that it'll take a long time.

"So what about you, glasses?"

"I don't want to leave them."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Ok, goodnight." Kakashi rolled over on his side, and closed his eyes. But just before he dozed off, he whispered, "Botan, watch over us while we sleep." After that, Kakashi was out cold.


	12. Chapter 12

Path of Radiance

Chapter 12

Kakashi awoke before everyone else, so he thought that he would walk around the forest a bit. The time was really early, the sun was barely up. As he began his trek, so many thoughts were coursing through his mind. He remembers the good times when he was the squad leader for team seven, he remembers the time when they tried all sorts of tricks to try to take his mask off. He chuckled aloud, reminiscing all the fun times he used to have. But now, his life is like a living hell. Being the leader of Akatsuki, he's labeled as the bad guy. And to make matters worse, Tsunade sent three of her shinobi to more than likely spy them out. Such a drag. Kakashi sighed miserably, feeling like he was at a dead end. _Why would Tsunade send these three to spy on Akatsuki? _He stopped abruptly, tapping his chin. He then shrugged his shoulders and continued onwards. The forest itself was peaceful at this time of the morning, not one single organism could be seen. Kakashi looked all about, wondering if something was amiss. Then, he heard the sound of gushing water. He followed the sound and when he came through the thicket, he saw a magnificent waterfall. He looked on the ground and saw something etched. His face lit up for he recognized that immediately. It was the same spot where Hitomi came to talk to him. He walked to the edge and stared down into the crystal water. He couldn't believe that this was actually him; after all, his hairstyle was no longer defying gravity but sagged downwards as though matt with water. No matter how much it pained his heart to be someone he's not, he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't live in another village because everyone knows who he is. "That's the sad thing about being famous. Every bitch knows who you are." He cursed. He began to take off his clothes, and not before long, dived off into the water. The water glided over his body in such a smooth graceful art, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel at ease. When he resurfaced, a huge smile appeared on his face and then he spun around in the water, creating a whirlpool. He was enjoying it, spinning in the cool semi-frost water.

"You need to do something more." A voice in the back of his head said. Instantaneously, he knew just who it was.

"I was beginning to wonder why you were so quiet." Kakashi said. Soon, Darius was materializing before him. He was standing on the water's top, with folded arms.

"So why are you splashing around like a three year-old?"

"You should feel the water. It's l―"

"Lovely, I know." His face was serious like that of a judge's, and his tone of voice was as cold as the winter's breeze itself. "There's something you need to do to fulfill your true nature as an immortal."

"Something like what?" Kakashi leaned backwards and placed both his hands on the water top as if he was in a chair. "And how do you know that?"

"It's what we angels do to find our absolute ability and glory." Darius shrugged. "It's called your path of radiance."

"Oh,"

"And also, there's something in the pits of my stomach that tells me something bad is going to happen."

"What?!" Kakashi stood in shock, having a feeling that the danger Darius was talking about is Orochimaru. "How's ―"

"K, I know I walk around topless, but jeez," Darius rolled his eyes with disgust. "Don't you think garments were invented for a reason?" Immediately, Kakashi sank down into the water. He held his head down; he couldn't believe that just happened. "As I was saying, there's oncoming danger. Be on the look-out."

"Yeah, I will."

"Beats me but hey, good always triumphs over evil." Darius smiled. "That's hope right?"

"Hn, I guess."

Kakashi slowly walked back to where the Akatsuki were sleeping and upon his return found that they were out cold. A grin appeared on his face, as a devious idea popped into his head. He took a step forwards and then clapped both his hands together releasing the wind element. However, a sound like thunder went like ripples of shockwave at the Akatsuki. Kakashi looked at his hands, then looked upwards. "Damn, I didn't know I could've done that with wind."

"That wasn't wind." Darius said from behind him. "It was sound. It can be created in a similar way like sand."

"Oh…these things are so ―" Kakashi broke off as a fist collided with his face. He fell on his back, and as he slowly rose on his elbow, he could see Hidan's face. It was boiling with anger, as a matter of fact, he was in a fit of dudgeon.

"What is wrong with you!?" He grabbed Kakashi by his collar, and stared him down with scary eyes. "We were trying to sleep!"

"I know that. But you got so many hours of sleep already." Kakashi broke free from Hidan's grip. He got up on his feet, and dusted off himself. "Well, well," Kakashi started. "Since you're all up, how about you three and I take a walk?" He was speaking directly to the Konoha shinobi. Hinata took a huge gulp, having a bad feeling. Sakura looked at Shino, who simply nodded. They moved off behind Kakashi, jumping from branch to branch. Then, they were back at the waterfall. Kakashi stood on the water's top while the shinobi stayed on land. "Why is it that you want to join Akatsuki?" He asked, taking a seat on the water.

"We've already told you." Sakura said, sounding a bit angry. "What more do you want us to say?"

"Akatsuki isn't for you. Why do you want to be a part of an organization that's been labeled as the bad guys? Why do you want to live a life in the forest without a proper home? Why do you want to be away from your friends, family and other loved ones? Why?" Kakashi's voice got softer as the pain of not being home resonated within his heart. "Go back home, it's best that way."

"But why are you here?" Hinata asked going towards him. "Why tell us as though ―"

"Because I had no choice. My 'Kage' didn't want me in her village anymore so I was forced to come out here. And with my reputation, everyone knows me so even if I wanted to join another village, the 'Kage' would more than likely contact my village to find out what's going on."

"But we don't know who you are." Shino said. Kakashi looked at him with a nasty glare, before he answered. "Not because we're having this conversation that doesn't mean you can know everything about me." No one said anything more, a silence fell between them. The only sound that was audible was the sound of the water gushing down the falls. "Well it seems that you're not going anywhere, so I'd like to hear your names."

"I'm Tamarin." Hinata said with a smile.

"I'm Sora." Sakura answered.

"Toshihiro." Shino said solemnly.

"Well, I'm Konen and welcome to the Akatsuki." Kakashi was grinning so much, if they could see his face, it would've been likened unto a three-year old's. He rose from his seat and walked towards the three shinobi. "You have much to learn."


	13. Chapter 13

Path of Radiance

Chapter 13

Sakura paced around impatiently, waiting on Konen to arrive. Somehow she felt as though there was something about him that seemed frighteningly familiar but she just couldn't pinpoint it. Plus, she was sure that she had never met Konen before or ever fought him. She placed her head in her palms and groaned. She had no idea what was happening but she just didn't want to admit it. She deemed that it would be disrespectful but she couldn't help it. His spiked silver hair, his dark lazy eye, the fact that his face was concealed, and top that, his voice and speech mocks that of her beloved sensei.

"There's no way one man can resemble another in so many ways." She said to herself.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder, looking with worried eyes. "Are you alright?"

"That damn bitch isn't here yet!" She said, clenching her fist. She was trying to divert her mind from her previous thoughts. "And I'm miserable and hungry."

"Well that 'damn bitch' won't be here soon and for snacks there are always berries and fruits." Hidan grinned nastily.

"But I don't want _berries _and_ fruits_." Sakura hissed.

"That's what you get for joining Akatsuki." Itachi joined in. "Ever since _he_ became our leader, we've been doing nothing other than sitting around or sparring or fighting to tame wild angels on the sandy plains." Itachi sounded angry and upset. "Pisses me off every time."

"But why did you have to fight 'wild angels'?" Shino asked. "And what are 'wild angels'"

"Long story…" Itachi answered. "It started ―"

"Konen summoned four fallen angels who are out of control and to control them he had to fight them and it took us all the way to The Sand." Deidara interjected.

"He can do that?" Hinata asked.

"Believe it." Deidara answered in-a-matter of factly.

"So where is he now?" Sakura asked.

"You don't want to know."

Kakashi jumped from branch to branch hastily, in an effort to make it Konoha in time. He noticed that, every time he went there, Anko was never at home. This time, he made sure that he would definitely catch her. He frowned, knowing that he had come back from the dead and hadn't said anything to her. It ached his heart to know that she's all alone without his comfort, his assurance, without him on a whole. Tears welled in his eyes, but they didn't run out. He fought to hold them back, but one escaped anyway. It streamed down his flawless face; he didn't even bother to wipe it off. Soon, Konoha's gates were visible. A grin appeared on his face; he placed chakra in his feet, and darted through the bush. He felt that since he was 'going home'; he thought that he should do what he always did when coming from a mission. Even though it brought a wave of home-sickness over him, he didn't care. All he wanted was to tell Anko how much he loves her and misses her. He landed on the wide path leading to Konoha, walking a bit too fast. Not wanting to draw attention, knowing that there might be ANBU lurking about in the bushes. In no time, he was at the entrance, and surprisingly there wasn't anyone at the post. He shrugged his shoulders and walked as though he was still a part of the village. When he was safely in, he took to the roofs and dashed towards his house.

Anko sat at the window, gazing out at the scant streets. Lately, the place has become dead boring, Kurenai going out on a mission somewhere in another small remote village. She felt lonely, having no one to talk to, in times like these she wants to punch Tsunade in the face. It was all her fault why Kakashi is dead. She held her head down and tears fell from her eyes.

"And he promised to come back to me." She sobbed. "He promised not to die."

"I'm sorry but I got stabbed in the back." A husky voice whispered into her right ear. She was startled, not sensing when anyone entered. "Did you miss me?"

"Kakashi?" Anko was beyond stunned. She looked at him with sorrowful eyes, and he could only manage to kiss her forehead. She was basically frozen; the shock of seeing him paralyzed her.

"Live and in the fresh." He answered. "Don't worry, I'm ―"

"How did you come back alive?"

"That my dear, is still a mystery." He dragged down the shirt and removed his jacket. Within the space of a second, his lips met hers. She was frozen; her body was close in forgetting what his kisses were like. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him firm to her. Amidst all that, he let his right hand wander on her body, and then leaving it on her belly. He evoked the star element, bringing to her the feeling of relief and allowing her to relax. He sensed that she was tensed, worried and somewhat depressed. But then he felt a kick on his hand. He jerked backwards; he looked at her and noticed that she has gotten bigger. He knew that before he left and before he died the second time, she had a little bump.

"Why are you staring at me?"  
"You've ―er―he's grown!" He said while pointing at her enlarged stomach. He saw her blush which made his heart leap with joy. He loved seeing her blush, heck, he loved seeing her smile, hearing her laughs, but most of all, he loved whenever she said his name.

"You expect him to stay one size for five months?"

"No…it's just that…never mind." He took a seat on the bed, and then beckoned to her to join him. After she sat beside him, he took her hand and within a whisk, they were sitting at Konoha's waterfalls. As Kakashi stared on, he remembers when he was teaching Naruto to split that very same waterfall with his chakra nature element. Good times.

"We're going to have some quality time together." Kakashi smiled. He was without his mask, and his shirt's collar was pulled down so his entire face was exposed. Anko was mesmerized by him, being that she hadn't seen his face for over two months. She rubbed her hand down his cheek and came to stop on his lips. For a while, she stood gazing in his eyes, as she couldn't believe that Kakashi was before her. She saw him being _stabbed_ by Naruto, she saw him _combusting_ into a pillar of white flames. She even saw when his_ ashes_ were blown down into the sea. She saw it all.

"Why don't you come back then?"

"I will," he replied. "I just need to put things back to normal first." He then took a seat on the ground, looking up into her face. Then, he held her hands and pulled her down to him. She sat in his lap; he then wrapped his hands around her. He rested his head on her shoulders, And the two stayed there in romantic silence. Anko was elated, seeing that she finally got a chance to be with Kakashi once more. But all that was about to come to an end. Approaching them, were ANBU ninjas. "Shit. ANBU are coming." Kakashi said with distaste.

"What? Why?"

"If you haven't noticed, but ANBU are constantly guarding our house whenever you're there. So they must've noticed that you're gone without Kurenai."

"So now they're looking for me." She said with a sad ringing in her voice. She knew what was coming next. She knew that he was leaving. Before Kakashi could say or do anything, she held his face and gave him one last kiss. "Come back soon."

"I will," After that he vanished in an instant.

Shino leaned on the bark of a tree, analyzing everyone else. Ever since they've arrived, he hasn't spoken much. He was just watching everyone. He noticed that the Akatsuki are somehow being restricted by some force. He couldn't understand why or by what, but they were their normal selves who seemed that whenever they wanted to do something that they're accustomed, something stops them. Even with Konen, no matter how much he's tried to sense his chakra signature, there's nothing. It's like Konen has no chakra flowing. But Shino figured that he must be masking it. But then, he was taken out of his investigation by a voice.

"I see you're the quiet one." Kakashi appeared out of the bushes, and gave a smile to him.

"I don't talk much."

"I still don't understand why you and your friends left such a prestigious village like Konoha."

Shino jerked with surprise. "You know that we're from Konoha?"

"Of course," Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Clearly you're an Aburame and Tamarin is a Hyuuga and those clans are strictly found in Konoha." Kakashi walked off towards the others, clapping his hands to grab their attention. Sakura wasted absolutely no time in attacking him.

"How do you expect us to eat?!"

"There're tons of berries and fruits about you know."

"I don't want to eat berries and fruits!" Sakura bellowed. Her face becoming red as ever. "Berries and fruits can't sustain my body."

"Well it's sustained ours so far," Kakashi said, "get used to it."

"You son of a ―"

"Let's get ready for some sparring." Kakashi walked towards Deidara, who was crouched down by an oak tree. "We're going to be in pairs. Each person pick their partners." Without hesitation, Sakura charged at Kakashi, Hidan took on Shino, Itachi with Hinata, and Deidara with Kakuzu. Sakura swung punches after punches after punches at Kakashi, who dodged with ease. But little did he know that that was her plan. She lured him away from the others into a copse, where she used her foot to create an earthquake. The rocks jutted upwards, forcing Kakashi to retreat. Sakura ducked behind a tree, wanting to be able to take him down. But before she could act, there he was, holding her throat. He then threw her back to where they were, and as she got up, he formed a fist to punch her but he held back. Of course, Sakura took charge of this opportunity, and swung her foot wide causing him to lose balance. He fell on his back, Sakura jumped towards him ready to punch. Kakashi timed her just right, and when she was near, extended his leg and kicked her upwards into the air. Because of his strength, she went beyond sky high and knowing the danger, Kakashi flew after her. When he made it to her, she kicked at him; he couldn't believe that even in mid-air, she still would put up a fight. He grabbed her leg, grinning at her.

"Let me go!"

"As you wish." He smiled. He used a restraining spell on her and instantly, she went stiff, unable to do anything. She herself wondered what did he do to her, but she had greater things to worry about. She fought and fought, but her body just won't respond. She was falling and she knew she was going to die if something wasn't done soon. She looked at Kakashi's face and at first he was smiling, but then she saw him vanish. A scream escaped her lips as she couldn't do anything to save herself. She closed her eyes, hoping a miracle would happen. Then she felt fingers curling around her skin, and she no longer felt the rush of winds against her. She opened her eyes, knowing that someone had caught her. And she hoped it was Shino.

"You should never say 'let me go' when you're being held in the air, okay Sakura-chan?" Kakashi smiled. Her eyes widen with shock, and right then and there, she felt like crumbling. _How did he find out?! _Even Kakashi, shocked at the name that came out. He never meant to say that. "Sorry, Sora. It's just that you remind me of a cherry blossom I know." She sprang out of his grip, landing on a square orchid coloured platform. She looked at him and then back at the platform.

"What is this?"

"It's a stepping stone, formed from magical energy." He moved off, and as he stepped off the stepping stone, another formed to prevent him from falling. "Aren't you coming?" He beckoned to her, and she followed. Kakashi quickly reached the ground, waiting for Sakura. Her heart was still pounding, disbelief still overpowering her. When she reached him, she grabbed his hand and led him back into the copse of trees.

"Would you care to share your memories of this 'cherry blossom'?"

"At first, she was weak and a fangirl of one of the boys in my squad, but then she realized that she was always the damsel in distress, so she got training and now she has monster strength. She's funny, caring and having her on my squad…" he trailed off and hung his head low, "I'm glad."

"And I remind you of her?"

"Vividly. Just looking at you, I see her." Kakashi smiled but then he began to look behind him. "Someone's coming."

"Really?" As Sakura said this, she saw Kakashi's eye widen with shock. He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to where the others were. "What's going on?" She asked, her upper arm burning from him just holding it.

"We're in deep shit if he arrives and sees us."

"He who?"

"Orochimaru."


End file.
